6 dead as army factions clash in Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, April 13 (UPI) -- Yemen's crisis intensified Wednesday as six people died in a clash between army factions and hundreds of thousands rallied against the regime.

Before dawn, troops loyal to Gen. Ali Mohsin al-Ahmar tried to seize a checkpoint outside Sanaa from a unit backing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, The Guardian reported.

Witness said the two sides exchanged fire for an hour, killing two of al-Ahmar's men, three of Saleh's and a civilian.

Al-Ahmar, a fellow tribesman and long a close ally of the president, has defected to the opposition. His troops have been facing off against forces led by the president's son.

Security forces also killed three teenage protesters in the southern port of Aden Wednesday, hospital staff said.

Attorney General Abdullah al-Olufi threatened to quit unless the killers of protesters last month are brought to justice.

The opposition is negotiating its response to a plan laid out by a six-nation regional coalition that calls for transferring power to Yemen's vice president.

The detention of Hosni Mubarak and his two sons in Egypt Wednesday seemed to further reinforce Saleh's determination to hold on to power, an official told The New York Times. The protest movement is demanding his prosecution.